Today, Baran bo Odar, who grew up in Erlangen, is best known as one of the two creative geniuses behind the Netflix mystery series “Dark” and “1899”. Bo Odar had already attracted widespread attention as a cinema director in 2014 with the gripping cybercrime thriller “Who Am I”. And so successful that three years later he was allowed to succeed the glossy actioner “Sleepless – Eine fatal Nacht”, for the first time in English and financed with American funds.
“Slaploos – Eine fatale Nacht” can be seen on RTL 2 on February 12, 2023 at 11:05 PM. The station offers a repeat at 3:10 that same night. If these dates don’t suit you in terms of time, that’s no problem. Then already on February 25, 2023, the thriller will also be shown twice on Servus TV – first at 8:15 PM and then again at 11:40 PM.
The FSK 16 title is also available as Blu-ray and DVD from online retailers such as Amazon. Alternatively, it is also available for streaming as video-on-demand for a fee:
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Hollywood stars like Jamie Foxx (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”), “Stranger Things” sheriff David Harbor (“Black Widow”) and Michelle Monaghan (“Mission: Impossible III”) shone for the camera. “Sleepless” may not be a real sensation, especially in terms of its fairly predictable story, which is kept in the tradition of works like “96 Hours” and “Die Hard”. The thriller, which is visually and atmospherically reminiscent of the work of Michael Mann (“Miami Vice”, “Heat”), offers at least dedicated stars in elaborately staged action scenes with speed and excitement. Our FILMSTARTS review awards a solid three out of five stars.
“Sleepless – A Deadly Night” on RTL 2: That’s the story
Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and Sean Cass (Tip “TI” Harris) are corrupt Las Vegas detectives. By embezzling and selling on seized drugs during arrests, they earn a considerable extra income. But with their latest coup, the duo are pushing their previous luck in these matters a little too much.
Vincent and Sean hijack a cocaine truck to transport eight million dollars. The next day, the two take over the case themselves in order to destroy any evidence against them. However, Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan), a shrewd officer investigating criminal cops, suspects what happened and steps on Vincent’s fur with her partner (David Harbour). However, he has much more serious problems. Because he was recognized by the great merchants who were rid of their goods.
To get their drugs back, the mobsters kidnap Vincent’s teenage son Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson). For the boy to survive, the cop must hand over the drugs to casino boss Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), before passing them on to sadistic crime boss Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy). Everything is arranged, but then suddenly the bag of cola that Vincent had hidden in a public toilet has disappeared…
“Sleepless – A Deadly Night” is a remake
Although the film is set in Las Vegas, only a small part was actually shot in the American gambling metropolis. Baran bo Odar shot most of the scenes in Atlanta, Georgia, which is much cheaper for such a production. In addition, it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to close off entire streets, for example to capture the wide, final action sequence on celluloid, in Las Vegas’ relatively narrow and twisty downtown area.
Frédéric Jardin’s 2011 French-Belgian-Luxembourgish crime thriller “Sleepless Night” served as the template for “Sleepless – A Deadly Night”. Im from Andrea Berloff (“Straight Outta Compton”) for the remake. largely retain the storyline, but move the action to the United States. But as expected, everything in the Hollywood version is arranged more than just a tad bigger and more spectacular.
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For those who like Sleepless, it might be worth checking out the original as well. And not just to discover the differences. Sure, with Jamie Foxx & Co. it pops much louder, more colorful and louder. With regard to various story details and the drawing of some characters, the European version clearly offers more depth and detail. In the opinion of the author of these lines, one or the other cliché about corrupt police officers is much more skillfully circumvented or at least presented more subtly.
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